


The Three Little Pigs: A Tale of Identity

by June_Ellie



Category: Original Work, Three Little Pigs (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Federal Agents, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Fugitives, Gen, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 17:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15491121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/June_Ellie/pseuds/June_Ellie
Summary: You'll huff and puff and blow the house down, but what lies hidden amongst the ruins?





	The Three Little Pigs: A Tale of Identity

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a Uni assignment, which required us to rewrite a classic fairy tale as a science-fiction story. Rather than just jazz it up with technology, I decided to do a somewhat different take on it. The lecturer seemed to like it, because that was the only A I managed to score all semester.

_Darkness. “… destroy … machine…”_

_An earth-shattering kaboom. “Look out!”_

_Fire explodes in an ever-expanding ring of death. “This way!”_

_Terrified voices echo amidst the chaos. “What are you…? No! Don’t!”_

_They scream my name… “WOLF!”_

“Agent Wolf, are you even listening to me?”

Wolf’s eyes flew open at the sound of his superior’s annoyed voice. Heart pounding wildly, he looked around the room. Whiteboard, table, chairs — nothing out of the ordinary in sight. As his breathing slowed, he tried to recall the shattered fragments of his dream, but they slipped away like a handful of sand.

“My apologies sir, I must have fallen asleep.” Wolf winced at Agent Hawk’s stony glare. Hawk pinched the bridge of his nose, turning back to the whiteboard. “As I was saying, we’ve located one of the saboteurs responsible for Fahrenheit Corp’s lab explosion last month.”

“Right, I remember that. Fahrenheit Corp was working on a drug to reverse the effects of aging, codenamed ‘Fountain of Youth’. A group of radicals claimed the project was a perversion of nature and attempted to blow up Fahrenheit Corp’s research lab.” Wolf’s face darkened as he remembered panicking workers running amok while hungry flames consumed the building.

Hawk nodded. “Good to know we’re on the same page. Our informant tells us the saboteur is hiding in a shack near the docks. Head down there immediately, and see if he feels like telling us where his friends are holed up.”

* * *

The raucous hubbub of the docks faded into the background as Wolf strode down a narrow dirt path. Approaching the dilapidated straw hut at the end of the path, Wolf rapped sharply on the door. “Open up in the name of the law.”

A disdainful snort echoed from within the shack. “Over my dead body.”

Wolf raised an eyebrow. “I’m a federal agent. Trust me, you don’t want to make things worse for yourself.”

When no answer was forthcoming, Wolf sighed, braced himself and kicked the door off its hinges with an explosive crash.

“Stay where you— What on earth…?” Wolf’s voice trailed off as he took in the scene before his eyes. The shack’s inhabitant had a humanoid form, wearing the clothes of a human. But where a human head should have been sat the head of a pig, bearing an unnatural shade of purple.

The pig humanoid — More like a pigman, thought Wolf — glanced at him. To his astonishment, its eyes widened and it jerked backwards as though it had been scalded. “You! How… This can’t be!”

“I take it you’ve heard of me.” Wolf smirked. “I’ll cut to the chase then. Where are the others?”

Dead silence followed. Wolf frowned at the pigman, who gaped at him wordlessly. “Well?”

“The others?” The pigman spluttered. “What are you—”

“Don’t play games with me,” Wolf snarled. “You and your buddies will be caught, one way or another. The only question is, how much pain are you willing to endure before you talk?”

The pigman scarcely seemed to hear him, shaking its head and backing away from him. “…Why?”

Losing his patience, Wolf lunged forward and tackled the pigman. “Listen dirtbag—”

Blinding light exploded from out of nowhere, engulfing the room. Wolf stumbled backwards, clutching at his face as a seemingly endless scream ripped from his throat…

_Darkness. The shadows melt away to reveal a pig humanoid with a purple head. “Hurry up! We have to destroy the machine before it’s too late.”_

_An earth-shattering kaboom. “Look out!”_

_Fire explodes in an ever-expanding ring of death. Trapped. Only one way out… “Come on! This way!”_

_Terrified voices echo amidst the chaos. “What are you…? No! Don’t!”_

_They scream my name… “WOLF!”_

“Agent Wolf, do you intend to make a habit of sleeping through briefings?”

Wolf bolted upright, wild panic surging through his veins. He was sitting in the briefing room, being glared at by his irritated superior. “How… where… what am I doing here?” He looked rapidly around the room, half–expecting to see the purple pigman.

Hawk frowned. “Are you feeling alright, Agent Wolf?”

“I don’t understand! I was tracking down the saboteur, and then…” Wolf rubbed his aching head, trying to reorient himself.

At this, Hawk’s stern gaze softened, tempered with concern. “As far as I could tell from your garbled report yesterday, the saboteur threw a stun grenade at you and was killed in the subsequent struggle. However, you found a torn scrap of paper on him and brought it back. We’ve just finished analysing it, and it appears to be part of a letter from one of his fellow saboteurs.”

Wolf tried to sift through his memories but drew a blank. “Why can’t I remember anything?”

“You were disoriented from the stun grenade and suffering a concussion when you reported back. Memory loss in such a situation isn’t uncommon. Anyway, we’ve managed to trace the letter’s provenance. The second saboteur is hiding out in an isolated hut in the woods. Go track him down, and try not to kill him too.” Hawk stood up, indicating the briefing was over.

Wolf didn’t move. “Sir, about the saboteur…”

“What is it?” Hawk raised an eyebrow.

“His face… He was a—”

“A pig humanoid, I know. You told me that at least ten times yesterday,” Hawk informed him dryly.

“How could such a thing exist? If the radicals had been… mutants, or whatever these things are, people would have noticed.”

Hawk’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps their appearance is due to being drenched in untested substances during the explosion. At any rate, your job is to subdue the culprits, not ask questions. Do I make myself clear?”

“…Yes sir. My apologies.” Wolf looked away, chagrined.

* * *

A few hours later, Wolf found himself standing outside a wooden hut in the forest. He rapped on the door. “Federal agent. Open up.”

“You! What do you think you’re doing?” A sudden wild cry exploded from behind the door, startling Wolf. He quickly recovered and drew his weapon, kicking the door in.

Inside stood another pigman, this time bearing a green head instead of purple. Its visage was twisted with fury as it glared at Wolf. “Have you taken leave of your senses? Why are you doing this?”

Wolf glared back. “I’m doing this to stop sick bastards like you who think it’s funny to go blowing things up for no good reason.”

The pigman stared at him, flabbergasted. “No good reason? What are you talking about? Look at what they’re doing, for crying out loud! Their work is a perversion of nature!”

Wolf threw his hands up in exasperation. “Medicine is unnatural! Should we let people fall prey to disease because it is natural? How is creating a cure for old age any different from curing another disease?”

There was a dangerous silence. “What on earth are you talking about?” The pigman asked with awful politeness. “What does curing old age have to do with anything?”

Wolf was thrown for a loop, unable to believe his ears. “What am I— Project Fountain of Youth? Your merry band of saboteurs’ attempt to stop this ‘perversion of nature’ by blowing up the lab? Chemical explosion mutating your faces into pig heads? Any of that ringing a bell?”

“Mutating our— No…” The pigman’s eyes widened in horror. “You really don’t know, do you?”

Wolf found himself growing increasingly unnerved by the pigman’s strange behaviour. “Enough stalling. Tell me where the third saboteur is, and you might—”

The pigman howled with laughter, tears running down its cheeks. “The third saboteur?” It cried hysterically. “Do you even have any idea who you’re looking for? Look at you! The perfect soldier! Following orders blindly, never questioning what you’re told!”

“I said enough!” Wolf barked. “Where is your third pig?”

“Right there.” The pigman pointed behind Wolf. Alarmed, Wolf spun around.

He found himself staring at a blue–headed pigman. Instantly, he raised his gun.

The blue pigman did the same.

Wolf stared. Slowly, he lowered his weapon, watching as the blue pigman lowered its weapon as well.

With shaking hands, Wolf reached up to touch the blue pigman’s face.

His fingers brushed against smooth, silvered glass.

A piercing scream shattered the silence as Wolf clutched his head in agony, unable to look away from the cursed image burning itself into his retinas, an overwhelming flood of memories swamping him…

_Darkness. Fox emerges from the shadows. “Hurry up! We have to destroy the machine before it’s too late.”_

_An earth-shattering kaboom. “Look out!” Raven tackles me to the ground just as a shelf comes crashing down. “Looks like we’re out of time. This place is gonna blow up!”_

_Fire explodes in an ever-expanding ring of death. Trapped. Only one way out…“Come on! This way!” I shout. We dive through the doorway as flames spring up behind us._

_Terrified voices echo amidst the chaos. “Now what? It can’t end like this!” “We’ve failed…”_

_“Not yet.” I take a deep breath. “There’s a window, over there. If I give you guys a boost, you can climb out and escape.”_

_“What are you talking about?” Fox’s eyes widen in realisation. “Are you crazy? We’re not leaving—”_

_“We don’t have time to argue! Go!” Ignoring their protests, I boost my friends towards the window and shove them through._

_“No! Don’t!”_

_I look up at them, committing their faces to my memory. “Don’t worry. I promise I’ll join you soon.” The flames rise higher, obscuring them from my view._

_They scream my name… “WOLF!”_

I scream and scream as fire sears through me in an endless wave of agony. It takes me a few moments to realise I’m awake.

“Ah, Agent Wolf. Welcome back. You had us worried.” My superior — no, my captor — gazes down at me. I lunge towards him, only to find I’m strapped to a bed in what appears to be an infirmary.

“Where’s Raven? What did you do to him?” I practically spit the words at him.

He raises an eyebrow. “Me? I did nothing. You killed him, just as you were supposed to.”

I can feel the blood draining from my face. “You’re lying!”

He shakes his head, looking disappointed. “Still deceiving yourself? What a pity you lack the courage to face the truth. You were the carrier of a virus specifically designed to shut down rogue humanoids. As soon as you came into contact with your former comrades, their fates were sealed.”

My hands begin to shake uncontrollably. I clench them tightly, nails digging into my palms. “Why me? Why couldn’t you get one of your lapdogs to do it? Was it just for laughs? Did you think it would be funny to screw with my head and make me hunt down my friends?”

He sighs. “You have a remarkable talent for short–sightedness. Your little escape attempt may have set our operations back by a few weeks, but the machine is ultimately fixable. And you — you gave us exactly what we needed: A test subject.”

“Manufacturing a perfect humanoid is easy. All it takes is a matter of understanding how the body works — and how it could work if enhanced. Creating a perfect soldier, on the other hand…” Hawk sneers at me. “Do you have any idea how easy this was? You should have seen yourself! Agent Wolf, champion of justice! So eager to hunt down the bad guys, punish them for their crimes. So long as we pointed you at a target, you’d take care of the problem, no questions asked. The perfect weapon.”

“And you expect me to continue being your pawn now that I’m myself again?” Hysterical laughter bubbles up in my throat. “I’m going to break out of here, you bastard. And when I do, I’ll snap your neck with my bare hands.”

Hawk gazes at me calmly. “My dear boy, do you really think I would create a weapon without making sure I could control it?”

“Ask yourself… Why did you always wake up in the briefing room?”

My eyes widen. Before I can react, Hawk looks me right in the eye. “Wipe clean the board, rise again.”

* * *

Wolf collapsed lifelessly as the infirmary door swung open, admitting an orderly with a carefully blank expression.

“Give him a double–dose today,” Hawk ordered. “Might as well be careful, make sure his memories don’t resurface again.”

“As you wish, Mr Fahrenheit.” The orderly grabbed Wolf’s limp body, carrying him out of the room. Hawk followed behind, a small smirk flashing across his face.

Upon entering the briefing room, he found Wolf already slumped down in his usual chair. “He’s ready to go sir.” With that, the orderly quietly filed out of the room.

Hawk took a seat across from Wolf and cleared his throat.

* * *

“Really, Agent Wolf, sleeping on duty again?”

Wolf startled awake in an instant. Looking around, he sheepishly relaxed as he saw Hawk’s exasperated countenance. “Sorry sir, I guess I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Hawk fixed him with a look. “Well don’t make a habit of it. Anyway, as I was saying…”


End file.
